The launch of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA) in 2015 marked a watershed moment for Australian policy, placing entrepreneurship at the centre of the nation's economic future. This analysis looks at how NISA's initiatives, particularly the overhaul of the Venture Capital Limited Partnership (VCLP) and Early-Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnership (ESVCLP) regimes, successfully stimulated the early-stage funding ecosystem. It also discusses the critical chal

Startups serve as the primary engines of growth in innovation districts, but they are not all born from the same crucible . Understanding their specific origins is crucial for any nation or region seeking to build a competitive innovation ecosystem. This insight explores four distinct foundational models:the Academic Cradle, Government Blueprint, Corporate Spinoff, and Cultural Uprising, to see what lessons other innovation districts and precincts hold for Australia's policy

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for showing the role of public investment in innovation for economic growth. The award signals the formal absorption of innovation into the mainstream neoclassical economic paradigm. While this marks a watershed moment, it also raises questions about intellectual lineage and disciplinary boundaries. This 'paradigm capture' may now create direct competition for the heterodox

The Handbook of Innovation Ecosystems provides a framework for charting a course for Australia to “move from fragmented, project-based initiatives to a coherent, adaptive, strategically integrated innovation system”. It will be of assistance to the Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres as he is faced with expectations of transformative action in a ‘budget neutral’ funding environment.

Policymakers, business strategists, innovation professionals, and researchers are increasingly being asked to invest in, create, or replicate innovation ecosystems. Until now, a clear framework for understanding what ecosystems are, how they function, and what enables their success has been largely missing, particularly in Australia. The Handbook of Innovation Ecosystems: Placemaking, Economics, Business, and Governance, just published by the Acton Institute for Innovation,

RMIT University’s Enabling Impact Platforms (EIPs) connect researchers, industry, and government to accelerate research translation and deliver outcomes that matter. Covering advanced manufacturing, health, sustainability, and more, the EIPs act as system integrators—breaking down silos, seeding collaborations, and aligning research with national and global priorities.

New research examining 80+ international innovation districts reveals what drives success. From MIT's Kendall Square to Singapore's One North, thriving ecosystems integrate placemaking, economics, business development and governance. Success comes from institutional capabilities and relationships, not impressive buildings. Australian policymakers can learn from global best practices whilst avoiding common pitfalls like property-led development models

University–industry ties are rising, but mainly with foreign firms. The real barrier is domestic absorptive capacity: many Australian SMEs lack R&D talent, systems to use outside knowledge, and resources to scale. Multinationals adopt our research, while local work stalls at TRL 6–7. Stop blaming universities. Industry must invest in skills, universities must back implementation, and government must support transfer agents. Without this, R&D returns will stay weak.

Innovation ecosystems often exist as dormant networks despite structural potential. The critical difference between contact lists and active collaboration lies in problem-focused interaction, trust-building, engagement, and governance mechanisms that align diverse organisational incentives. Successful activation requires shared challenges that demonstrate mutual value, system integrators that facilitate cross-sector engagement, and policy frameworks that reward collaborative

Sydney has impressive innovation assets, top universities, vibrant tech, and leading health precincts, but underperforms as a unified ecosystem. With 33 councils and competing districts, the city lacks the integration seen in Amsterdam, Boston, Singapore. New research argues Sydney must stop mimicking Silicon Valley and instead build metropolitan-scale coordination, trusted intermediaries, and collaborative governance to turn fragmented brilliance into global competitive adv

Research analysing 26,000+ startups globally reveals founder personalities predict success with 82.5% accuracy. Teams combining diverse personality types are twice as likely to achieve successful exits. Six distinct founder personalities identified, from technical "Fighters" to business-focused "Leaders." For Australian innovation policy, this suggests moving beyond supporting individual entrepreneurs to fostering personality-diverse founding teams through redesigned policies

Successful innovation districts achieve integration across four critical domains: placemaking that treats public spaces as economic infrastructure, economic development based on systems thinking, commercial frameworks that align public and private interests, and governance institutions with clear mandates and adequate resources. Cities should treat innovation district development as a complex system requiring integration across multiple domains and timeframes.

Australia's food policy suffers from commodity-focused analysis that undervalues the full food system. While agricultural production accounts for 2.4% of GDP, integrated food chains contribute more, estimated at 10-15%. This blindness stems from farm-gate metrics, while consumption innovation lacks institutional support. Food has evolved beyond sustenance into cultural expression in multicultural Australia. Policy needs consumption-led approaches, recognising food's community

Australia’s Rural R&D Corporations are rightly celebrated, but the system around them needs to evolve. This Innovation Insight reframes agricultural policy not in terms of who holds power—but what functions the system must perform to meet today's national challenges. A future-focused rethink from CSIRO’s Food System Horizons.

At a time when the language of innovation is everywhere yet the architecture for delivering it is so often absent, the need for honest, grounded, and practical thinking is urgent. The goal of this book is not to predict the future, but to inform and provoke those with the responsibility and agency to shape it.

Software is the invisible engine of Australia’s real economy. It silently powers everything from energy grids to medical diagnostics, mining automation to advanced manufacturing. Too often, software is left out of economic plans, policy settings, and capability strategies. It’s time to treat software as national infrastructure — a strategic enabler, not just commercial code. If we want productivity growth, energy transition, and sovereign control of critical systems, we need

The tectonic shifts in the global economy—from manufacturing to services, from tangible goods to intangible assets—demand more than incremental adjustments to our statistical and analytical frameworks, Australia, a nation increasingly powered by services and innovation, risks undermining its competitiveness by clinging to an outdated framework. The case for adopting modern, flexible, and globally aligned industry classification systems has never been more compelling.

Australia’s economic future depends on lifting productivity through deliberate, coordinated innovation efforts. This demands more than tax breaks or start-up hype. We need systemic clarity about innovation; mature ecosystems that enable diffusion, PMI-oriented public intervention, regional governance, and outcome-based metrics. Only then can Australia boost competitiveness, inclusivity, and resilience beyond legacy sectors and cyclical growth.

Australia's innovation policy faces a blind spot: the systematic neglect of common knowledge that enables breakthrough innovations to scale and endure. While current frameworks excel at measuring patents and R&D expenditures, they overlook the tacit expertise, institutional practices, and professional networks that serve as innovation's connective tissue. This Insight reveals how integrating common knowledge with proprietary systems can transform Australia's innovation perfor

I've been analysing Australia's innovation policy and discovered something striking: the Administrative Arrangements Order (which allocates government responsibilities) doesn't mention "innovation" anywhere. Departments are assigned responsibility for research, science, and technology, but no department is given responsibility for innovation itself. This helps explain why we keep cycling through reviews, Ministerial statements, and "renewed" strategies without delivering tran